Katherine Barrett Wilson (born July 12, 1982) is an American politician and activist serving as the 58th mayor of Seattle since 2026. She is the co-founder and executive director of the Transit Riders Union, a group that focuses on improving public transportation and workers' rights.
Wilson, a democratic socialist, was elected mayor of Seattle in 2025, narrowly defeating incumbent mayor Bruce Harrell.
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Early life and activism
Wilson was raised in Binghamton, New York, by her parents, Anne Barrett Clark and David Sloan Wilson, both evolutionary biologists. She graduated in 2000 as salutatorian from Binghamton High School before studying physics and philosophy at Balliol College of Oxford in England. She withdrew from Oxford six weeks before she was scheduled to sit for the examinations in the final honours school for her degree and moved to Seattle in 2004. She worked several jobs after moving, including working in boat repair, construction, and as an office assistant.
In fall 2011, Wilson co-founded the Seattle Transit Riders Union (TRU), a nonprofit 501(c)(4) focused on improving public transportation in Seattle and King County, where she has been a paid, full-time employee since 2019. Tax records show she earned almost $73,000 from the nonprofit in 2022. She also served as Executive Director and the group’s board president, an unpaid position. The TRU is an organization that campaigns and lobbies for progressive causes.
The organization was formed after a proposed 17% cut to King County Metro and an elimination of the fare-free zone in downtown. In 2014, Wilson and the TRU successfully lobbied King County for the creation of the ORCA Lift program, which provided reduced fares for low-income individuals. The TRU previously campaigned for increases to the minimum wage in Burien, SeaTac and Tukwila, as well as greater renters' rights, and better public transport.
In 2020, Wilson played a role in the creation of Seattle's JumpStart tax, a payroll tax on private employers to fund affordable housing. She was critical of Mayor Bruce Harrell for proposing redirecting JumpStart funds to balance the city budget instead of affordable housing projects. Wilson was also a member of Harrell's Seattle Revenue Stabilization Workgroup, which explored and recommended additional progressive revenue to address the city's budget deficit. For several years, Wilson was also a member of the board of the Economic Opportunity Institute.
Wilson has written policy columns for Cascade PBS and The Stranger.
Mayor of Seattle
2025 campaign
In March 2025, Wilson announced a campaign to challenge incumbent Bruce Harrell for mayor of Seattle. She cited Harrell's opposition to a February 2025 ballot measure that would fund housing through taxes on businesses as a factor in her decision to run. Wilson, running as a progressive, stated her top three priorities as mayor are housing, homelessness, and protecting Seattle from federal actions. In the primary, she was endorsed by every Democratic party organization in the city, including all six legislative district Democrats, The Stranger, and PROTEC17, a union that represents 3,000 city workers.
In the weeks leading to the primary, polls indicated a close race between Wilson and Harrell, with both raising nearly $500,000. In the August nonpartisan primary, Wilson placed first among a field of eight candidates, with 50.9% of the vote, and advanced to the general election with Harrell who earned 41.3%.
Wilson's campaign was likened to the campaign of Zohran Mamdani in the 2025 New York City mayoral election by several publications, including The Nation and The Stranger. According to The Nation, Wilson created a winning electoral coalition from the precariat of Seattle renters, Sound transit riders, and Democratic Socialists of America members. Fox News credited Wilson's electoral success to her ability to appeal to progressive voters by advocating for city-run grocery stores, taxing the rich, and "Trump-proofing" the city. On the campaign trail, Wilson argued Harrell did not properly address homelessness during his tenure as mayor, and failed to lower the cost of living. Harrell emphasized his administration's efforts on public safety, transportation, and housing affordability, while noting Wilson's previous support for the "Defund the police" movement. During the campaign Wilson did not call for defunding the police, instead arguing that armed officers are not needed to respond to mental health and other non-crime calls that should be handled by other kinds of professionals.
Wilson won by a margin of 0.73 percentage points in the November 4, 2025 general election, the closest mayoral election in Seattle by percentage points since 1906.
Tenure
Wilson's term began on January 1, 2026. She was ceremonially sworn into office on January 2, 2026, with local transit union leader Pauline Van Senus administering the oath of office.
Since taking office, Wilson has publicly supported Seattle's Somali community and opposed Republican-led oversight committees investigating fraud allegations linked to the Somali immigrant community of Minnesota. Wilson has supported local Seattle immigrant communities and activist networks that oppose ICE arrests in the city.
In March 2026, Wilson stopped a citywide rollout of the Microsoft Copilot AI chatbot for city employees that had begun under her predecessor. The 500 employees who were already using it were allowed to continue. In May 2026, Wilson lifted the restriction of Microsoft Copilot for day-to-day tasks, but blocked publicly available AI tools, like ChatGPT.
Shortly after being elected mayor, Wilson joined the Starbucks Workers United picket line outside a Starbucks Reserve in the Capitol Hill neighborhood as part of a larger strike by unionized Starbucks workers around America amid stalled contract negotiations. At the event, Wilson urged Seattleites to boycott the chain, declaring, "I am not buying Starbucks and you shouldn't either," and led a chant in support of striking workers. In May 2026, Wilson told The New York Times that her earlier comments had been counterproductive, and that she wanted to maintain a "multidimensional relationship" with companies like Starbucks. Wilson later told the South Seattle Emerald that she would continue to support unionization efforts, describing Seattle as a 'union town.' However, she noted that she planned to maintain positive relationships with major corporations such as Starbucks, citing the company's million-dollar contribution to the city's 'Shelter Acceleration' program.
In June 2026, the first batch of single-adult home units (colloquially known as "tiny homes") finished construction in the city's Interbay neighborhood. This community of tiny homes was officially designated as the Bayside Shelter. When open, Bayside will provide 24/7 transitional housing for homeless individuals currently living on the streets. In addition to shelter, occupants will also have access to behavioral health support. As of June 2026, 50 of the 75 units have been built, with the remaining units at Bayside scheduled to finish construction by the end of the month. The Bayside Shelter project cost $3.95 million.
Political views
Wilson is a self-described democratic socialist, but is not a member of and was not endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America. However, she was endorsed by the University of Washington youth chapter of the DSA.
Public transportation
Through the Transit Riders Union, Wilson successfully lobbied for the creation of the ORCA Lift program for low-income riders and free ORCA cards for students in Seattle Public Schools. Wilson also proposed fare-free transit in Seattle following the adoption of fare-free policy by Olympia-based Intercity Transit in 2020. She also advocated for subsidies on e-bikes and transit passes for employees, congestion pricing and a parking cash-out law.
Wilson's mayoral campaign platform included support for improvements to accessibility and safety on sidewalks and bicycle lanes in Seattle. Her platform also endorsed a program to pedestrianize and limit car access to Pike Place Market and portions of Capitol Hill.
Rent regulations
Wilson is a supporter of rent stabilization. She also supported increasing zoning for houses and public housing to tackle high rents, along with banning algorithmic price fixing and "junk fees" in rent costs. Additionally, she supported limiting the purchase of homes by private equity firms.
Taxes
Wilson has been highly critical of Washington's state tax laws, which she deemed as the "worst" in the United States. Specifically, she notes that the lack of an income tax in Washington forces reliance on other sources of revenue like sales, excise, and property taxes that she claims benefit large companies like Amazon and Microsoft. She also supported progressive tax reform campaigns within Seattle. In 2020, Wilson advocated for the Amazon Tax campaign in Seattle City Council, led by Councilmember Kshama Sawant. She similarly supported the JumpStart Tax, which focused on taxing larger businesses with high-earning employees, including Amazon. The JumpStart Tax was introduced as legislation by Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, passing with a 7-2 vote.
During her mayoral campaign, Wilson proposed additional taxes to generate revenue for the city, including a tax on landlords that own vacant properties and a capital gains tax.
Personal life
Wilson is married to Scott Myers, an activist whom she met during high school in Binghamton. They rent a one-bedroom apartment in Capitol Hill and have one daughter.
Wilson does not own a car and primarily rides public transit to get around Seattle with her daughter. Wilson has also previously used a bicycle for transportation, although she relies more on transit since having a child. Since becoming mayor of Seattle, she is transported by a security detail.